Senator Retract - Harry Reid

I decided to take a break, over the long Christmas holidays, from all social and political commentary. Although the new year brings with it much hope and transformation (I know you all can't wait for the 'change'), I am not surprised, as I return to the world of news and blogging, to find the same old Harry Reid at it again.

Just two days after Harry Reid proclaimed to the world that "His" senate would never ever sit Illinois Senate designate Roland Burris, Reid pulled an about face by actually allowing Burris inside the sacred front door of the United States Senate chamber.

Harry Reid has totally caved. Dick Durbin has totally caved. On Sunday and Monday of this week they were clearly stating that the Senate and only the Senate will determine a solution, and further more, that they were not seating him. Ah ha ... and then something strange happened on Tuesday.

People began to focus on the racial aspects. The press strategically photographed Burris as this poor, bedraggled black guy surrounded by attorneys, barred from the U.S. Senate, an all-white men's club, and then giving the appearance they forced him out into the rain.

You add to that the situation with the secretary of state in Illinois, Jesse White, who said: "I'm not signing this, I'm not signing the paper necessary to make this happen," then you really do have a problem.

So what does Reid do, amongst the mounting pressure, he retracts his statement by saying: "We have nothing to do with this. This is all about the secretary of state of Illinois. The secretary of state of Illinois has to sign the certification form here." So Reid is pretending that he never, ever said anything about not letting Burris into the building or even sitting him for that matter.

Are you surprised? You shouldn't be, but in case you are, let me remind you of some of Reid's top retractions:

Just recently Senator Retract stated that "I don't work for Obama," and added "Democrats must be “very, very careful” to avoid overreaching and will not rubber-stamp President-elect Obama’s policies." He later retracted by saying he didn't work for and with Obama until the 20th of January.

And what about the long running State of Minnesota Senate Side Show (Al Franken v. Norm Coleman)?

"Coleman will never ever (there's those words again) serve," stated Reid in arguing that Norm Coleman’s career in the Senate is finished. “Norm Coleman will never ever serve [again] in the Senate. He lost the election. He can stall things, but he'll never serve in the Senate.” These statements have been made in light of the growing facts that there is substantial evidence of voter fraud and a lawsuit pending.

Reid has fretted over how fossil fuels like coal 'makes us sick.' Never mind that life expectancy, largely, fueled by industrialization and its accompanying higher living standards, continues to climb. In each case, the consequences to Reid's political career have apparently been minimal.

And who can forget this past fall when Reid said that visitors to the Capitol "stink!"

"My staff tells me not to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway," said Reid in his remarks. "In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it's true."

Recently, Senator Retract announced that a 'major insurance company' is on the verge of bankruptcy. His comments caused life insurance stocks to plummet. For example, MetLife (NYSE: MET) fell by more than 15% and Hartford Financial Services (NYSE: HIG) fell by approximately 35%. He retracted his statement by claiming he had been led to believe that, under the current financial climate, it could happen soon, but that he was not actually aware of any company being in danger of bankruptcy.

And the hits just keep on coming ...

Remember when he attacked our troops and General Petraeus, telling them they can't win and that the war is lost? He retracted those statements by stating he meant that if the Bush policies continued as they were. Hmmmm, didn't the President's policies include the successful surge in Iraq? And now Senator Retract tries to make himself out to be a super patriot. It's not flying, Senator.

And let's not forget these other two things about Senator Retract, when he told schoolchildren in Nevada that George Bush, the commander-in-chief, was a loser. Then he essentially called Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas illiterate. He was asked what he thought about Thomas, and replied: "He's not very good; his opinions don't make any sense; they're not written very well,"

Then there was that infamous Senator Retract statement during the height of the debate on Illegal Aliens. "We will hopefully bring to final passage a comprehensive bill that will strengthen our border security and bring 12 million undocumented Americans out of the shadows." Undocumented Americans, are you kidding me?

Senator Harry Reid, majority leader of the United State Senate, is actually the head of a party which cannot survive on the basis of its ideas. Liberalism cannot triumph openly in the arena of ideas. It can only triumph by destroying, via character assassination and other things, its opponents. They don't dare come join us in the arena of ideas for open debate on issues. And if they do, it will soon descend into personal assaults and attacks.

That is of course until they retract those assaults and attacks.